Espinosa, José María (1796–1883)
Espinosa, José María (1796–1883)
José María Espinosa (b. 1796; d. 1883), Colombian artist. Born to an aristocratic and distinguished creole family in Bogotá, Espinosa began studying painting with artist Pablo Antonio García, but the revolution of July 1810 against Spain interrupted his training. He served in the army until independence was achieved in 1819 and then published his account of his experiences fighting under General Antonio Nariño from 1813 to 1816 in Memorias de un abandero. While on the southern campaign, he was taken prisoner and drew caricatures of fellow prisoners as well as landscapes and battle scenes.
At the conclusion of the war, Espinosa returned to Bogotá and took his position in the social and political life of the new republic. He painted many portraits of the heroes of the independence struggle, and of Bolívar in particular, in a style that marked a transition from the colonial to the republican period.
See alsoArt: The Nineteenth Century; Creole; Colombia: From the Conquest through Independence.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Gabriel Giraldo Jaramillo, La miniatura, la pintura y el grabado en Colombia (1980).
Additional Bibliography
González, Beatriz, and Marta Calderón. Caricatura y costumbrismo: José María Espinosa y Ramón Torres Méndez, dos colombianos del Siglo XIX. Museo Nacional de Colombia, 1999.
BÉlgica RodrÍguez